I hope you haven't left the community and I hope the vomiting has stopped and you have the pain under control?

Gee, suffering with your neck and your back must be very hard. I find my neck is very stiff now I have a back condition, especially driving.

Anyway, I hope you pop in to say hello and I hope our fellow forum members acknowledge the tough time you are going through right now and pop in too! You are a valuable member of this forum, so I hope you pop in and let us know how you're going.

Hi Eliza. i am lying low and will be lying low for a while. Pretty well beaten down with neck on top of back. Though the neck is winning hands down. Thing about necks is that you can't just take it out for a walk and hope that provides some relief. You are stuck with llimited options such as pain meds, sedatives or soft neck brace. All 3 are doing little. Fortunately i remembered i had Pramin for nausea so that is under control.
More importantly is you. Ketamine. I don't see any great long lasting success stories in my reading of members accounts. They seem to go through a hard emotional time in the process. If someone has a had a stunning success outcome long term please say so. I don't know your daily intake of opioids but if it is realistic whatever that is, i wouldn't rush to get off them. Whether or not an insurance company or doctor wants you off them is not their call. Its your body so you do what's best for you. Personally i wouldn't have ketamine treatment and on the one occasion i asked doc about it he said 'when you are in palliative care i will give you as much as you like because that's the only place i will prescibe it'. When i first met you on this forum the first thing i thought of was an imlant like Don's and and i still believe you should look further into that. Maybe your pain docs thinking that if Ketamine doesn't work at least he has an argument for requesting high cost implant as the next logical step. Best ask him what his train of thought is.
regards Outlast.

One thing that has helped my neck pain (not made it disappear, but brought it down for periods at a time) is Botox. I think you said you were on wc? Wc pays for mine and it is administered by a neurologist. It does have varying results, but I do have periods of lowered pain levels (he does all the migraine points and then base of the skull and into the shoulders as well), but I can relate to that feeling like you're neck is wanting to make you feel like vomiting. I used to also get electricity running up and down the back of my neck and the Botox has helped with that too. It's not a perfect answer and you have to keep getting top ups, but if the meds aren't doing it for you, then I just thought i'd make another suggestion.

Hi Fee. Thanks for your wishes. I broke my neck at C2 level. So now that has permanently fused with C1 trapping nerves etc with it. Levels C3 to C7 are a mess of arthritis coming as a secondary to accident. So its a matter of bone on bone and if i am right Botox is a muscle thingo. Just to add to the condition is that i carry my head to one side because i am blind in one eye and that of course leads to inbalance. An pysiotherapist 'ordered me' to hold my head straight but as i told her any first year med student knows that is done to increase field of vision in the one good eye. But i do appreciate your good line of thinking because muscle imbalance goes along with all of this. Its got me thinking that i will ask pain doc. I have found the Vic TAC pretty co operative but if i have to fight for it they can keep their money. I am just not up to any more battles with Govt. Depts. Enough is enough. Sooner or later you have to phase them out of your life where possible. I always get asked by doctors at compulsory insurance visits why is it i don't see doctors more often and i just look at them blankly ask 'why'. I have never once had one sit me down and explain a management plan or keep me updated on new developments. When i read of what other members get offered i just think i have been pigeon holed by my past mental health issues , read depression here. Actually before i felt crook i was going to make a thread on 'Does your mental health history impact your pain treatment'. I know that it does. Will do that.
Take care Fee.

Outlast past mental issues can be like trying to break down a brick wall with a toothpick, my records have had depression plastered on them from an early age, and this has impacted on a few wrong diagnoses from a couple of hospitals, and yet the doctors at my local GP offices have never withheld any sort of treatment because of this. if it was not for some of their persistence I would not be as well off as I currently am. What I am trying to say is not all doctors are quick to stick this label on you and hold it against you, there are some doctors who understand.